SCIU 007
by DizziZilla
Summary: Since the arrival of Fuyuki Ichikawa—a young girl with strange powers, the full extent of which are unknown—the life of Officer Kuze, a homicide detective at Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007, has been turned upside down...though whether he's as annoyed as he professes to be is yet to be determined. (Why the '007', you ask? They hate that question. Blame the Boss.)
1. Hot-Potato (part 1)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 (Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007) and its original characters are the property of Kaji Eiri.

* * *

"Anyone here?" a soprano voice rang out. "We're here from Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007."

Silence.

"…Are you sure we're in the right place?" the voice whispered. "It's so dark in here—where's the light? It smells like… _Wahh _- !"

There was a thud, accompanied by splashing.

"Fuyuki?" a low voice, obviously male, called sharply.

"_Tch! _…oww… " the soprano whined, "What's this…eh?"

"What's what?" the male asked, and there was the sound of brushing as he searched the wall for the light switch. A couple dull lights flickered on, creating a small, and annoying, buzzing sound.

But that wasn't the only sound. The girl on the floor and the man at the switch looked up when there was the small, familiar rustling noise; the flickering of a flame. They watched, transfixed, as a small line of fire crossed the ceiling, from a broken light fixture above, and down the wall…a line that would eventually lead to the puddle of gasoline that the girl was currently sitting in.

"…._Kuze?" _ the girl called, frozen.

"_You Idiot!"_

The large man lunged at the girl on the floor, grabbing her by both arms and violently thrusting both of them out the warehouse doors. Without a pause, he rolled multiple times, pulling the girl along with him, out of the way as a wave of heat and sparks poured from the doorway when the warehouse burst into flame.

The man called Kuze pulled back to get a look at the girl under him. None of the sparks had gotten on her. He sighed heavily in relief, sitting back on his heels. "You alright?"

Fuyuki propped herself up on her elbows, still reeling from the roll. She stared at the roaring warehouse with wide eyes, and then down at the ground the two had initially landed on. A suspiciously Fuyuki-sized patch of grass was burning there, aided by the imprint she had left with her soaked backside. She gulped audibly.

"That was…" she blinked, still wrapping her disoriented mind around what had just happened. "…quite…exciting."

"Oh, _really_…?" a dark, dangerous voice came from the man kneeling over her, his face overshadowed by his hair. The roaring of his angry aura nearly drowned out the roaring of the flames behind him. "…_exciting_, huh?"

"Kuze! Fuyuki!"

Both the man and the girl pinned under him looked up as a mild-looking man came running up the slope towards them. Fuyuki was clutching at both of Kuze's arms, trying to pull back the hands that were currently stretching both of her cheeks mercilessly.

"Sasaki—" Kuze said, distracted. Fuyuki fell back, rubbing at her abused cheeks, silently thanking their co-worker for having come to her rescue.

"What happened?!" the man called Sasaki asked, gaping in astonishment at the state of the previously peaceful warehouse. "—Where is the witness?"

"We were set up," Kuze said shortly, climbing to his feet and tugging Fuyuki along. He started down the slope, dragging the highly-flammable girl with him, away from the oppressive heat waves emanating from the rapidly declining structure. He seemed calm, but there was a dangerous undercurrent in his voice. "This is no simple arsonist we are dealing with—this was a trap."

* * *

"Finished?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't get the smell…_hey!" _Fuyuki shopped mid-sentence and thrust a finger toward Kuze, her whole aspect one of horror. "_What…wh…WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"_

"Taking a smoke, obviously," the man stated blandly.

"PUT THAT OUT RIGHT NOW!" Fuyuki shrieked. "YOU STILL HAVE GASOLINE ON YOU!"

"_Tch_…so noisy," Kuze muttered, obediently snuffing out the cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. "I washed my hands first."

"_As if that makes it any better_!" Fuyuki fumed to herself as Kuze passed her on the way to the shower. They had stopped by her hotel room on the way to his apartment for a change of clothes, Kuze's reasoning being that it would be more efficient if they both showered at one location before heading back to work. "_Kuze is an idiot_!"

Fuyuki wrinkled her nose. The smell of gasoline still lingered in her nostrils.

Just an hour ago they had gotten a call at the department—apparently, a person wearing the same clothes as the supposed suspect for a string of arsons had been chased away from that warehouse by a groundskeeper… but upon further investigation Sasaki had discovered that no such groundskeeper existed. It had all been an elaborate set up to lure the police to the scene to trigger that fire.

"So _hateful_," Fuyuki had exclaimed after Kuze had finished talking to Sasaki on the phone on their way to the hotel. They left the scene shortly after the fire department arrived—Sasaki had told them to leave things to him while they went to clean up. Kuze had remained quiet, but Fuyuki could tell he was furious under that calm exterior.

Fuyuki crossed the room to look out the window, her face pinched.

_Whoever he is, he's in big trouble when Kuze and I find him… _she thought darkly.

"You still haven't dried your hair."

Startled out of her reverie by Kuze's irritated voice and an angry hand on the top of her head, Fuyuki nearly jumped out of her skin.

"…You're already out?" she asked from where she had landed, several feet away, her body still comically frozen from the fright.

He lifted a brow and pointed to the carpet in front of the couch.

"Sit." He commanded.

Fuyuki brightened considerably as Kuze made his way back to the bathroom. She hopped obediently over to the specified patch of carpet and made herself comfortable, grinning from ear to ear. Kuze, having retrieved the blow-dryer, scowled at her giddy expression.

That was one of the funny things about Kuze—he was intimidating, cold, and difficult most of the time… but when it came to things like hair, and looking after a certain un-named seventeen year-old, he was surprisingly talented.

That all made sense if you knew a little about his background; his little sister, whom he had been the primary caretaker of, would have been Fuyuki's age by now if she were still alive…

Kuze's phone rang. He opened it deftly with one hand, tucking it between his ear and shoulder as he resumed his task of drying Fuyuki's hair.

"Sasaki," he greeted, cutting right to the chase, "Any new developments?"

"KUZE, YOU DEVIL_-WHY HAVE YOU BEEN IGNORING MY CALLS!?"_

Fuyuki cringed as Boss's voice rivaled the whirring of the blow-dryer.

"What's the point in answering your calls if I've got nothing to say to you?" Kuze snapped, pulling the phone away from his ear with one hand.

It had taken some getting used to, but the hostilities between Kuze and the Boss were no longer so shocking as the had been… Fuyuki had learned to sit back and watch things play out. Kuze's devil-may-care attitude clearly irked their supervisor, as well as the face that Kuze had been given the position of caretaker/partner for the young (and cute) Fuyuki… and with Kuze's attitude, Boss rarely ever got the feeling of having won any of their battles.

There was much roaring on the other end of the line, which ceased when Kuze promptly hung up on him.

On the other end, Sasaki sighed at the explosion triggered by said act, wondering if Kuze enjoyed toying with their superior's blood pressure.

_"So noisy,"_ Kuze muttered, scowling. He turned off the blow-dryer and stood, muttering something about an old gorilla stealing Sasaki's phone and everything stinking of gasoline. "At least you managed to keep your hair out of the stuff."

"We're leaving now?" Fuyuki asked, still wondering if it was really alright to hang up on the boss like that.

"We're meeting Sasaki back at the office to regroup," Kuze answered. "I'll braid it when we get there."

After a brief, happy squeal, Fuyuki sobered, mind back on the case at hand. "We're not going back to the crime scene? What about finding the culprit with my abilities?"

"We'll go there later, though I doubt we'll find much."

_That's true,_ Fuyuki thought. The arsonist was good—he didn't leave personal possessions on site, so Fuyuki could only see images through things he had touched briefly…and he was always in the same disguise.

_It's almost as if he knows about me…_ she thought as they made their way back to the station.

The office was a wreck when they arrived. Boss and 'the three idiots', as Kuze called them, were in a rage over having discovered that Kuze and Fuyuki had both showered at Kuze's apartment and the reason they were in need of a shower…though it was difficult to tell whether they were more upset about their near premature cremation, or their having used the same shower.

Kuze ignored them, mildly advising that Fuyuki do the same. It was in moments like these when Fuyuki was glad for Kuze's habit of steering her around their excitable co-workers.

"Any progress?"

Sasaki smiled weakly, apparently more affected by the death glares leveled at Kuze, as he set to work braiding Fuyuki's hair, than the target was.

"Aside from the non-existent groundskeeper, there was one real witness," Sasaki handed Kuze a statement from the questioning of said witness. "He described the same man as the rest did—tall and skinny, baggy green hoodie, baggy jeans, sneakers, and a doctor's mask with sunglasses."

"It'd he hard _not_ to notice someone dressed like that," Fuyuki said, holding the statement up for Kuze to read while his hands were occupied with her hair.

"Did the witness notice any vehicles or other methods of transporting large quantities of gasoline?"

"The gasoline was apparently already at the warehouse."

"I see. Anything more on the phony phone call?"

"The voice was male, but otherwise rather nondescript."

"What about the use of the light to trigger the flame?" Kuze went back to braiding with quicker movements, probably no longer reading the statement Fuyuki was holding up. She lowered her hands, looking through the other witness statements behind the most recent. "Has the fire-department gotten back to us on that yet?"

"Not yet."

The first handful of arsons in the sting suffered no casualties. In the fourth, there were injuries, but no deaths. The fifth had killed several people…that was when they got the case.

"_…uki… … Fuyuki!"_

She snapped to attention to find Kuze looking down at her.

"What are you spacing out about?"

"This woman," Fuyuki said, lifting one of the statements she that had caught her eye. "She lost her family in a fire when she was younger, and now her boyfriend… seems unfair."

"Life isn't always fair," Kuze said quietly, tugging on her braid. "Let's go to the scene—we can't give life back, but we can give some closure to the living."

Fuyuki blinked. It was rare for Kuze to say something like that. He had the same look in his eye as he did when he spoke of his sister, Naoko.

Rolling his eyes at her dazed state, he put her in a headlock and dragged her out the door by force.

"Kuze—my neck!"

* * *

It was early morning at the station when Fuyuki peeked into the lounge. Kuze wasn't there. She checked the office, finding Sasaki at his desk.

"Good Morning, Sasaki-san," Fuyuki said, smiling as Sasaki looked up at her where she was leaning in the doorway. "Where is everyone?"

"Good Morning, Fuyuki—Boss and the others aren't in yet," Sasaki answered, nodding politely to her greeting. He smiled at the slightly crestfallen look on her face. "Kuze's down at the range."

"The range?"

"There's a shooting range in the basement—Kuze often goes there to practice when a case is bothering him."

"Oh," Fuyuki blinked, and brightened, her eyes twinkling with mischievous curiosity. She had always wondered about Kuze's impeccable marksmanship. "Thanks!"

Sasaki smiled as Fuyuki skipped off down the hall, wondering what chaos he had just unleashed on his colleague.

Fuyuki didn't quite make it all the way to the basement. She met someone in the lobby that distracted her.

"Hina-san!"

The woman entering through the front doors looked up, startled, as Fuyuki greeted her. She was a tall, shy, and rather frail-looking woman—it was the woman from the witness statement she had been looking at yesterday.

"Fuyuki-san," she said hesitantly, smiling. She looked stressed, like she hadn't been sleeping very much, and her smile was unsteady. Her eyes were anxious. "Have you found anything new?"

Fuyuki sobered considerably.

"Not much—but we do know that his last act was directly targeted towards us, so we must be getting close."

Hina-san nodded, looking a little worn-out. Then she brightened. "Oh! Here—this is for you and the others in your investigations unit."

She handed a paper bag to Fuyuki, who blinked.

"Cookies—my younger brother and I made them for you."

"Oh!"

The older woman smiled at the happy light that filled Fuyuki's eyes, a smile that was a little sad.

"Will you come visit me again sometime, Fuyuki?" she asked, "I'd like to learn more about you… and it would be nice to have someone to talk to besides my little brother."

"Of course!" Fuyuki exclaimed with enthusiasm, giving an emphatic nod and clenching her fist excitedly, "You can count on me, Hina-san!"

As Fuyuki continued on her journey down towards the basement, she pondered on the encounter with Hina-san. It was difficult for Fuyuki to make friends…living at the research institution, she had always been rather isolated. Her only real friends had been Ryu and Arashi, both boys that she had met at the institution, and she never really had the chance to make any real female friends.

'_But maybe that's about to change,'_ she thought brightly, smiling to herself. It was a funny feeling, at once exciting and uncomfortable. '_I'm growing, aren't I? That's a good thing, right? Growth always feels a bit uncomfortable…'_

"Fuyuki!"

Fuyuki turned to face the smiling man in the white lab coat that was striding toward her.

"Good morning, Dr. Yuu."

"What's this?" the grinning doctor asked. He leaned in close, a little too close in Fuyuki's mind, and sniffed. "Cookies? …and…gasoline? What have you been up to?"

_Urk…that smell just won't go away!_

Fuyuki blinked. "Doctor?"

Dr. Yuu had leaned forward further still, causing Fuyuki to practically bend over backwards. There was a strange light in the man's eyes as he peered at her over his lenses…

"Don't go playing around such toxic fumes too much, Fuyuki—you'll ruin those lovely pink lungs of yours."

"And don't go playing around with this Doctor, either—his perverted-inner-organ-loving thought processes might be contagious."

"Kuze!" Fuyuki gasped, oddly relieved to be swept into a headlock as her partner dragged her away from the leering doctor.

"Black-lung Kuze, to the rescue!" Dr. Yuu sang after them, earning a chilling glare from the irritable officer.

"Eh?" Fuyuki noticed that they had taken a wrong turn. "Where are we going? Was there another fire?"

"Yes—but _you_ are going home."

"_Huh?_!" she dug in her heels, fighting to eradicate herself of the headlock. "What about work?!"

Kuze eyed his young charge/partner as she tried to squirm from his hold. If he told her that he didn't want her to come along because he thought the culprit knew about her abilities and was targeting her, it would just rile her up further.

"Everything there is too hot to touch right now—so unless you have suddenly developed the ability to see an object's history from a distance, you aren't going to be of any use."

Fuyuki flinched. As much as his words stung her, he did have a point—her 'sight' was indeed limited to what she could make direct physical contact with.

She pouted and muttered darkly as he dragged her from the building and hailed a taxi, telling the driver the address of her hotel.

"Just be a good girl and go straight home," he ordered, practically throwing her into the back seat. "I'll swing by in the morning to pick you up."

She rolled down the window as the taxi pulled from the curb.

"Kuze is an _IDIOT!"_

The way he stiffened and glared at her childish insult was satisfying.

_Hmph. Serves him right,_ she thought irritably, watching the buildings zip by. The comment on her 'usefulness' still stung. Was she not worth anything without her special abilities?

Well. They _were_ the only reason she had the job in the first place…

Being the stubborn, contrary creature she was, Fuyuki did _not _go home. When the taxicab driver thought to remind her of her partners admonishment to 'go straight home', she thought to remind him that it wasn't Kuze's card that would be paying the fare.

Since she didn't know the location of the fire, she couldn't very well show up at the crime scene. She'd have to settle for seeing if Hina-san was home.

Her brother answered the door first, and gave Fuyuki a rather chilling glare. He was a bit on the short and bulky side, and hadn't really struck Fuyuki as a social butterfly the last time they had met.

"Hello, Hiro-san," Fuyuki said awkwardly, not really liking the look in his eyes. "Is Hina-san home today?"

"Sis!" the boy called up some stairs. "It's that police girl with the creepy powers!"

"…Fuyuki-san?" Hina came rushing down the steps and somewhat anxiously shooed her little brother away. "That was so rude, Hiro—I'm sorry Fuyuki-san! He's never gotten along well with people…"

"It's alright, Hina-san—I'm used to it," Fuyuki smiled, ignoring the dull throb in her chest. "Please call me Fuyuki."

Hina-san smiled, if somewhat distractedly. She kept glancing back into the apartment after her brother. Once again, Fuyuki noted that she wasn't looking very well, and seemed a bit harried.

"Is this a bad time, Hina-san?"

"No! …No…I guess I just need a bit of fresh air," she said, shaking herself as she tucked some strands of hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear. Her hands trembled slightly. "Would you walk with me?"

"Of course."

Fuyuki walked alongside the troubled woman in silence. One of her special abilities was to 'read' the thoughts of the heart by touch—and if she had learned one thing from the varied occasions where she had 'read' a heart, it was the pain that came with those thoughts was not to be taken lightly.

Fuyuki couldn't remember her own family aside from her father, who was the head of the research institute she grew up at…and who had never really been interested in anything but her abilities… so it was hard to imagine having lost anyone near to her heart.

_What would I feel if something happened to Kuze…?_

She balked at the thought, shaking herself roughly. Kuze couldn't die. Nope. Definitely not.

"Fuyuki?"

Fuyuki blinked, coming back to the present. "Yes, Hina-san?"

"Are you and that handsome officer very close?"

"...Kuze?" _how did she know I was thinking about Kuze?_

"Yes—You two are usually together whenever I see you…are you dating?"

"_Eh?!"_ Fuyuki's ears suddenly felt very warm. "N-No, that idiot Kuze and I are just p-partners!"

The older woman smiled somewhat knowingly, which Fuyuki found rather uncomfortable.

"But you like him, right?"

Fuyuki felt herself turn to cement. …_like…Kuze? …well…yeah, but I've never talked to anyone about it, and I wouldn't really know how to start…_

But girls talked about this kind of thing, right? It was a phenomenon that was foreign to Fuyuki, but it was something she kind of wanted to give a try anyway…

"…Yes."

Hina-san nodded. "I thought so. He's handsome, and he looks after you so well…you could hardly help falling in love with him…"

There was a lonely tenor to her words, like she was remembering something. She seemed to come to herself after a moment, though. She smiled.

"Will you be seeing him later today?"

Fuyuki pouted, face pinched angrily. "I won't be seeing that idiot until tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Hina-san nodded. "I see. You quarreled?"

"He said I was useless and sent me home," Fuyuki muttered darkly, scowling. She missed the strange dimming in Hina-san's eyes.

"You live alone, Fuyuki?"

She nodded.

"What about your family?"

Fuyuki wrung her hands a bit. She wasn't used to this kind of questioning—it was what made it hard to make female friends…they were so much better at asking personal questions… and once they knew how …different…Fuyuki's upbringing had been, they found it harder to talk to her.

"My father runs the Ichikawa Research Institute," she answered, hoping that Hina-san wouldn't pry too much further. "I grew up there."

"You and your father are close, then?"

"…No," Fuyuki answered quietly, feeling a little uncomfortable under the compassionate look in Hina-san's eyes. "We never were very close, really."

"I see," Hina-san said, looking away.

Suddenly, her eyes flared wide, and she froze.

Crossing the street in front of them was a figure clad in a green hoodie, a doctor's mask, and sunglasses.

Fuyuki gasped. "HEY!"

The figure jumped at her shout, and took off running, with Fuyuki hot on his heels.

"_Call me useless_…._I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S USELESS, KUZE!"_

* * *

Miles away, officer Kuze felt a foreboding chill ride down his spine.

[i hope this is turning out alright...if i let myself stress too much over it, i'll never get around to posting it, so here goes! Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 {that sure is a mouthful...} is a fun manga - not all that serious, and it the art can take a little getting used to, but i like it well enough...well enough to write a fanfiction, anyway ;) I'd really be encouraged by comments and pointers, so feel free to send me your thoughts - thank you for reading!]


	2. Hot-Potato (part 2)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 and its original characters are the property of Kaji Eiri

* * *

Fuyuki groaned and winced as she tried to move—her head was throbbing something fierce, and the slight smell of gasoline was not helping in the least.

"I think I'm going to vomit."

"Here."

Fuyuki opened her eyes to find a bag under her nose, which she made prompt use of. It was only after she finished making a mess of it that she recognized it.

It was the bag of cookies Hina-san had given her that morning.

She blinked, trying to focus on the image of the person kneeling in front of her. "Hiro-kun?"

"Mornin', Witch-chan."

"Hiro, don't be rude."

Hiro snorted. "What's the point of being polite? She's not going to live long enough for me to benefit from it, anyway."

Fuyuki followed the sound of the second voice. Hina-san stood not too far off, but she wasn't wearing what she had been wearing while walking with Fuyuki. She was wearing a familiar green hoodie.

Fuyuki closed her eyes and leaned her aching head back against the post she was tied to. Things were starting to line up, and she didn't like how it was looking.

The figure she had been chasing earlier had been wrong. It was short and stout, where the arsonist was supposed to be tall and lanky…

Hina-san was tall and lanky, and she was wearing the green hoodie now, with a doctor's mask hanging from one ear and sunglasses in hand.

Hiro-kun was short and stout, and he was fingering a lighter with a very ugly smile.

Fuyuki was tied to an old bed post.

She did not like how this was looking one bit.

_I've done it again. Kuze is going to kill me._

"Don't be like that, Hiro—Fuyuki is one of us."

"…So this is some cult welcoming ritual?" Fuyuki asked, eyeing Hina-san skeptically.

"No, Fuyuki…" There was something scary about those kind eyes. They didn't fit the scene. "…we're sending you off. Here—read me."

Fuyuki resisted the urge to flinch away as Hina reached out to touch her face.

"How do you know about my abilities?" Fuyuki asked instead. Something was totally off here-nobody _volunteers_ their heart to be read. Kuze was a little strange, in that he didn't mind her touching him at all, but he never _told _her to read him like this.

"I'm a hacker," Hiro-kun said, smirking.

"And a good one, at that," Hina-san said, sounding fondly exasperated. "But it does come in handy. We needed to know what to do to keep him from being found out. Now, read me."

_'None of them wanted us. They all left us. First Father, who ran away. Then Mother, who burnt the house down and died. Then the 'family' members and family 'friends' that played a game of hot-potato with us…and poor Hiro…poor Hiro was angry. He couldn't take it like I could. So he set a fire, like the fire Mother died in, and sent them away the day I was old enough to take him away. Then we were fine. We were fine by ourselves, and would have lived happily together…until HIM.'_

Fuyuki's face was blank, her eyes empty, almost as if her consciousness were somewhere else. She was seeing memories, flashes of people and places and flames.

'_HE came, without our asking, to and promised to 'take care' of us…he made me believe—made me believe that maybe someone would stay. That maybe someone wouldn't throw us away. But Hiro knew. He always knew that there was no-one who would care about us that way. And he was right.'_

Fuyuki saw the memories. The fights that Hina and Hiro had with one another, about right and wrong, but Hiro won, because Hina couldn't let him believe that she would throw him away, no matter how twisted he became. Hiro was the mind behind it all, and Hina just tried to help keep him from getting caught and taken away from her. Playing decoy. Hiding him. She didn't want to kill anyone.

Until now.

'_You're just like me—only without your Hiro. I would go, if it weren't for Hiro. Hiro needs me, but no-one needs you. So I'll send you away. I'll free you from this world where no-one wants us, and we'll join you, when Hiro is ready.'_

Fuyuki fought to return to herself, but something was wrong. She had gone deeper than she should have…her restrictive bracelets should have kicked in by now… where were they?

"Something's wrong with her, Nee-chan."

The voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Fuyuki was beginning to panic.

_Where is my body?_

"She really is weird. Apparently these tacky bangles she was wearing were supposed to make her stable, or something. Maybe she can't come back without them? She didn't possess you or something, right?" Hiro-kun said, his voice ringing in the void.

"Be nice, Hiro—she really is one of us."

"Yeah, Yeah—a reject, I know. Glad to see you're still you," He scoffed. Fuyuki turned, growing closer to the source of the sound. "Get going, Decoy-chan. You hate this part, anyway."

He continued, in a mutter now. "…But at least the people around her had a _reason_ to reject her. I think I'll call that cop she's always clinging to, let him get a load of what happens to her. An audience to your execution, eh, Witch-chan?"

Fuyuki followed the sound, hoping that he'd keep talking. She was almost there…

"In fact, I think I'll rig it so the show will start once he arrives. Should I make it happen when he opens the door?"

She was panicking, and it was throwing off her sense of direction. This had been so much easier when it was Kuze guiding her back… his warmth was a much more reassuring compass…

"Or maybe I'll make it happen when he tries to climb the stairs? That way I can trap him inside, and he'll die with you. How does that sound?"

Fuyuki gasped, like a swimmer breaking the surface after too long below.

_"YOU LEAVE KUZE OUT OF THIS, YOU SCUM_!"

Hiro-kun blinked, and smirked. "I'm glad you're back, Witch-chan. The show just wouldn't be the same without any screaming."

"You're a sad, twisted little boy, Hiro-kun."

_Whack!_

Fuyuki saw spots in her reeling vision, and her cheek stung.

"I'm getting sick of people telling me how sad I am, you know. Can't you see how much fun I'm having? Pity yourself, Witch-chan. I don't need it," he spat, before standing to walk over to the door. "Now, you be good and await your death while I set up a welcome for your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

After a moment, Hiro stuck his head back into the room.

"Oh—you can scream for help, if you want, but there isn't anybody here but me to hear you," he chuckled darkly. "So if you're going to scream, you might as well sing or something, since the usual 'please don't kill me' gig is kinda annoying."

_Ack! He makes me SO MAD!_

* * *

"Kuze…"

"What is it, Sasaki?"

Sasaki flinched. Kuze had been in a bad mood about something since he arrived. Had Fuyuki given him a hard time about not coming? He repressed the urge to chuckle at that, since Kuze would surely not appreciate it.

"The fire department doesn't believe that this was the doing of an arsonist, and none of the witnesses saw anyone that fit the descriptions of the arsonist that we have received."

Kuze cursed under his breath, pulling out his phone as it began to vibrate, prepared to ignore it if it was the boss. Sasaki could handle reporting this news to the old gorilla without him. Since it wasn't the boss, he decided to be civil.

"Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007, Officer Kuze speaking."

"Ah, do you always have to add the 007? It's kinda tacky."

It was a frequent (and irritating) question, but the voice had Kuze's on high alert. A distortion device was obviously being used, which either made his an elaborate prank call or something worse.

"Who is this? And how did you get this number?"

Sasaki's ears perked. Kuze did not sound happy.

"Oh—I'm a good hack," the voice said, "And an arsonist, if that rings any bells."

"… …Is that so?"

Sasaki shivered at the cold energy roiling off his fellow officer.

"Yep. It's so," the voice said, its distorted chuckle grating on Kuze's ears. "I thought you might like an invitation to the witch burning I'm hosting."

"Witch burning?" the bad feeling Kuze had just got infinitely worse.

"Aw—don't be so cold, Detective-kun," the voice said, laughing again. "You know, the little pretty thing that follows you around? You cops really hit the jackpot when her daddy tossed her into your laps…but it's kinda inconvenient for me, so I gotta do something about it. Are you coming to see the show, or not?"

"_If you hurt her, I will kill you."_

"Easy there, Detective-kun. Don't tell me this hot-potato is your sweet-potato? She says she's not, so that would make you a _reject_'s reject, if that were the case. That's a pretty sad state of affairs, Detective-kun

"Anyway, if you wanna hear Witch-chan's dying screams, here's the place—the abandoned house at the end of the street two lefts northwest of the police station."

"Anything _else_ I should know about?" Kuze growled.

"Oh…I think Witch-chan got some funny ideas about bringing the house down before you can get here, and she can't really do anything by halves-what with me taking those Taser cuffs of hers—so you might want to bring a shovel to dig her corpse out if she makes it collapse. Bye-Bye."

The line went dead.

* * *

Fuyuki pursed her lips and tried again, cringing at the _CRACK! _That resonated from the floor behind her. she was actually aiming for the bed frame, but without her limiter bracelets, it was so much harder to know just how much power she was putting into her attacks—and her state of mind was not in the best condition for accuracy.

A whack and a slap to the head can do that. So can being tethered to a burning house.

*_Cough!*_

Apparently Hiro-kun had given up on preparing a trap for Kuze once she started on the bedframe. He hadn't known that the bracelets kept her from taking down buildings by accident.

'Bye-Bye Monster-chan. Rest in peace!' he had said. Fuyuki snorted. _Just wait till I get my hands on you, Pighead! I'll—*Cough! Cough!*_

The smoke was getting thicker, and it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. She took one last crack at the bed frame, lunging forward as she came free and the bed fell through the floor with a mighty _CRASH!_. A torrent of smoke exploded up from the room below. She struggled to hold her breath as she wiggled her way over to the window, hands still tied behind her.

*_COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!*_

She rolled across the floor, ignoring the pain to her bound wrists, and propped herself up, looking out.

There was smoke blocking most of her view outside, but she though she saw moving forms, and could hear shouts now. Was someone fighting?

_*COUGH! COUGH! COUGH—_

If she didn't get out soon, she'd lose consciousness. Could she risk jumping from the window? It was so hard to breathe…she was losing…

With a last burst of energy, Fuyuki stood and used her power to shatter the pane.

* * *

"Did you catch him?"

Kuze lifted his head groggily at the croaking voice that spoke from the bed.

"Hiro-kun…and Hina-san…did you catch them?"

He groaned and let his head _thud!_ onto her stomach as an improv pillow to resume his nap. "Shut up. You're in a hospital—act like it."

"_Wha—" *Cough! Cough!* "—Is that any way to treat a—" *Cough! COUGH!*_

_"_Shut up!" Kuze snapped.

Fuyuki pouted while trying to smother her coughing fit. "You're such a meanie, Kuze."

Sasaki entered the small room with a shy smile "Kuze has just been very worried about you—if he hadn't broken through the firefighters in time to catch you when you fell, your injuries would be much worse."

_Not to mention that he hasn't taken a cigarette break since you've been unconscious, _Sasaki thought, smiling a little at Kuze's irritated scowls.

"Broken through? So it really was—" *_cough* "—_ fighting I heard?"

"_Go to sleep_," Kuze growled, his dark aura seething again. Fuyuki squawked in surprise as his hand moved to cover her eyes. "_If you'd just obediently gone home, none of this would have happened!"_

"If you'd just taken me with you, it wouldn't have happened, either!" she snapped back. "I didn't _know_ they were the culprits when I went to visit!"

Sasaki made his escape before the quarrel could escalate…but strangely, it didn't. It might have had something to do with the slightly suspicious _*sniff*_ and barely audible tremor there at the end. Kuze sat back down in his seat, reclaiming her stomach as his pillow.

"What are you doing, Kuze?"

"You still smell like gasoline."

Fuyuki's ears went hot with embarrassment. "Well then, go find yourself a better pillow!"

"We caught them."

"…How?"

"The sister stuck around to make sure her brother got away, but got caught instead. He turned himself in a few hours later."

"Oh."

_I guess he really did care about his sister, after all._

_"… …_You aren't useless."

Fuyuki blinked a few times, a little startled. Was that... was Kuze _apologizing?_

She felt warmer suddenly, and lighter, like a weight had been taken off her chest. She giggled and patted his head.

"I forgive you."

He scowled and muttered something about impudent brats and idiots that take on the world as soon as your back is turned.

"Kuze?"

"M?"

"What's a 'hot-potato', anyway?"

* * *

[This didn't really ended up being all that 'Mysterious', genre-wise. Practice makes…better…I suppose? Please tell me what you think, and thank you for reading!]


	3. The Charity Masque-Raiders (part 1)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 and its original characters are the property of their creator, Kaji Eiri.

The Charity Masque-Raiders (part 1)

Fuyuki stepped out of the elevator doors as they opened on her floor. As usual, this floor was rather lacking in traffic - the first time she came it had surprised her that such a big police station could be so lifeless in spots, but now she was used to it.

"Fuyuki-chan!"

Fuyuki turned at the sound of a familiar voice. "Uncle Cricket?"

"Dance with me, my dear," the older gentleman said jovially, sweeping her into a waltz before she could reply.

Uncle Cricket was the one that taught her how to dance. He was good friends with her father, so Fuyuki saw him often at the institute, and he'd always treated her like she really was his niece.

They waltzed from the elevators, up the relatively empty hall, and through the open office door of Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007, where Boss could be heard loudly reprimanding a sleeping Kuze.

Uncle Cricket lifted a brow at Fuyuki, who stifled a snigger. Kuze was _always_ sleeping, and Boss was _always_ loudly reprimanding him for something or other—such was life in S.C.I.U. 007.

"Sir…" A rather frazzled-looking Sasaki tapped Boss on the shoulder "The Director is here."

Boss spun about in alarm as Kuze propped himself up grumpily on the couch. Uncle Cricket (who also happened to be Police Director Kounogi) gave Fuyuki one last flourishing turn before bowing to her rather dumbfounded coworkers.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"Good morning, Sir," Boss said, glancing angrily at the relaxed Kuze. "Is there something you need?"

"I need a date for the charity ball I'm attending this evening—might I borrow Officer Kuze and Fuyuki for a bit?"

Boss, looking a little confused, nodded as Kuze pushed himself off the couch with a wary look—usually when the Director wanted to borrow them, it spelled trouble.

"Is your wife not feeling well?" Fuyuki asked worriedly as they re-entered the hallway together.

Uncle Cricket gave a wry smile. "My wife is too afraid to go."

Kuze stiffened. Here it was. Definitely trouble.

"Why would she be afraid to go to a charity ball?"

"Well…the last few that have been hosted have been raided by masked swashbucklers."

Kuze and Fuyuki blinked. "Pardon?"

"Masked swashbucklers," he repeated, looking entirely serious "They have fencing foils, hats with outrageous plumes, fancy masks…the whole kit and caboodle. They haven't actually hurt anyone yet, and though they auction back any jewelry taken at the end of their performance…they are still acting outside the law, with real weapons, and as keepers of the peace…"

"We need to ensure the safety of the citizens," Kuze finished. The Director nodded.

Kuze glanced down at Fuyuki and stifled a groan. Her eyes were practically glittering with curiosity. He was beginning to worry about her—were all the brushes with danger warping her personality? Or had she always been this strange? He thought back on it, remembering how eager she was to challenge knifed ruffians and gun-slinging thugs.

Nope. She came this way. He rubbed his aching temples. This was actually the most harmless thing they had done all month, but… "She's not going anywhere without me."

Fuyuki gave an excited whoop and happily accepted Uncle Cricket's offer of a celebratory waltz back down the hall, laughing all the way.

* * *

Fuyuki flinched as Reiko nee-san cinched the corset tighter.

"Is…this…really necessary?" she gasped, struggling a bit to breathe.

"Of course!" Reiko laughed. She turned and motioned for Fuyuki to help her with her own torturous contraption "After all, what are swashbucklers without fair maidens in poufy dresses and distressing corsets?"

Fuyuki laughed as she tugged on Reiko nee-san's laces. She wasn't actually Fuyuki's sister—she was Kuze's—but she had insisted that Fuyuki call her 'nee-san' anyway. Not that Fuyuki minded all that much. It was kind of like calling the Director 'Uncle'.

"Aren't you a little nervous, Reiko nee-san?"

"A little…but Kyouichirou will be there, so we'll be fine."

Fuyuki nodded. The Kuze family were the owners of a very prestigious hospital, so getting an invitation hadn't been difficult—and Kuze wasn't one to let things get too out of hand while he was present.

"Just _wait _until you see the dress I picked out for you, Fuyuki!" Reiko startled her out of her thoughts with a sudden hug. It was something that she was slowly growing accustomed to—the Kuze family was a little more western in expressing themselves. After having met Kuze's siblings, Reiko nee-san and Yuji, it was a little easier to understand why Kuze seemed to have a warped view (or lack thereof) of personal space. "It is _sooooo_ adorable!"

Reiko nee-san's taste in clothes was a bit frillier than Fuyuki was accustomed to, but she did have to admit that this dress was rather pretty.

It was western style, looking like it got much of its inspiration from the era of horse-drawn carriages and decorative parasols. The color theme was white, with accents of warm sunset yellow stripes that faded into pink—to match the pink-tipped yellow rose accessories and ribbons. It was still very poufy, and certainly frilly, but pretty all the same.

"It's lovely, Reiko nee-san."

"Isn't it?" she sighed, and pouted…which was a bit of a novel expression to see on such a sharp-looking business woman. "It's too bad that I look so horrendous in girly things…."

Reiko pulled out her own dress to show Fuyuki—the style matched the first, but the colors were different. The base was black, with purple and blue accents, and less ribbons and lace. It was very beautiful, and more mature in style than Fuyuki's, but also rather tame when Reiko nee-san's love of cuteness and frill was taken into consideration.

"It isn't as girly, but I think you'll look wonderful in it," Fuyuki said truthfully.

She was finding that hugs and corsets make for a very limited oxygen supply, but she managed to stay conscious through another attack from Reiko. Reiko helped her into her gown and fussed over the placement of some of the rose accessories before reluctantly allowing Kuze to take over the styling of her hair…though not without expressing her frustration over Kuze's eye for detail being better than her own.

It wasn't the first time she had the feeling, but Fuyuki was finding it a bit difficult not to feel like the Kuze family's personal dress-up doll as she made an effort to hold still while they fussed over her.

Kuze, as always, was looking rather striking. His sharp looks went well with his tuxedo; though he's probably look better if he'd smile a little.

She turned a little red remembering how he had reacted the last time she tried to get him to smile, and decided to keep the suggestion to herself…as well as the growing ache in her chest.

She could understand why they fussed over her. She was the same age Naoko, their youngest sibling, would be if she were still alive. She imagined that spoiling her would be kind of therapeutic for the Kuze family.

Yuji, their youngest brother of the family, had asked her if it bothered her once—to which she answered that she didn't mind. In some ways she even liked it…and she knew that they were not the kind of people who would just use others for their own convenience.

But truthfully, she had to admit to herself that it stung a little now and then to think that part of the reason they liked her might be because of an unconscious longing for someone else. It just kind of made her feel like she hadn't really earned a place in their hearts herself.

"Oi—what are you sulking about?"

"What?" Fuyuki blinked, startled out of her thoughts as Kuze tugged on a curl. She touched her face, wondering if her thoughts had been showing through. Even if they had, how would Kuze be able to tell, since she was facing the other way?

_Yosh! Cheer up, self! This is no time to throw a pity-party!_

"I'm not sulking!"

Kuze eyed her suspiciously. She'd been oddly silent for a while now.

"And you're one to talk, Kuze!" she returned the suspicious look. "You've been glaring at everything in sight for weeks!"

"Turn around," he snapped.

He hadn't really been angry at anything in particular—it was just that since her hospitalization due to the arson case, he'd been making an effort not to smoke around her, which made him a bit more irritable than usual. Not that she needed to know that, though. He placed the last rose carefully in its place at the base of her braided crown and loosed the hair from the curlers so that it hung about her shoulders.

"Where do you learn how to do this stuff, Kyou nii-san?"

Kuze eyed his younger brother thoughtfully, trying to decide if he was actually irritated by that question, or if Yuji was just a convenient target to take out irritation on. Yuji seemed to gather the general direction of his thoughts and skipped out of range before Kuze could strike him with the nearest ash tray.

He decided to ignore his siblings as they joined each other in their speculation on where he had learned how to style hair as he left the room for a smoking break. He pulled out his cell and dialed Sasaki's number on the way.

"Did Dr. Yuu have anything useful to say?" Kuze asked, not one to waste much time on greetings.

"He gave me the name of a few fencing schools in the area," Sasaki answered, familiar with Kuze's style of operating. "Fuyuki was right about it being in his range of interests."

Kuze lifted a brow at that. It had surprised him too, when Fuyuki had suggested they ask Dr. Yuu about where to find a group of masked swashbucklers—but she was right. Once again, Dr. Yuu's bizarre interests and strange social circles proved useful.

He wasn't sure why it annoyed him that she seemed to be becoming more familiar with that inner-organ-loving-creep's thought processes and personality, but it did.

"Call me with the names of fencing students that coincide with the guest list for the Charity Ball tonight."

"I'm on it."

He pocketed his phone and sat on the porch railing of his family's western style home, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as he scowled at his watch. They'd be late if Reiko took too much longer.

"Was I right?"

He exhaled and turned to eye Fuyuki where she had appeared at his elbow, lifting a brow at the twinkling, expectant look in her eyes. He was half tempted to lie, just to wipe that impish look off her face. He scowled, and she grinned, taking that as his answer as she did a little victory dance and skipped back into the house.


	4. The Charity Masque-Raiders (part 2)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 and its original characters are the property of their creator, Kaji Eiri.

The Charity Masque-Raiders (part 2)

The host of the charity ball was a wealthy widowed social butterfly, an elderly woman who was profuse in her gratitude towards the Police Director for his attendance and for supplying the guards for the event. Fuyuki thought the way she blushed at Kuze was very cute, but found the way she squealed over Fuyuki's gown and 'doll-like' appearance as she dragged her around the mansion—intent on introducing her to her grandson—slightly less endearing.

Fortunately, the elderly woman's matchmaking schemes were cut short when her grandson proved less than eager to talk to Fuyuki. Kuze's chilling glare might have had something to do with it, but Fuyuki had missed that particular exchange.

"Was it something I said?"

"Maybe he's shy?" Yuji offered, looking as though he was hiding the urge to laugh as he changed the subject. "Do you know how to waltz, Fuyuki?"

"A little."

"Shall we brave the wrath of the dragon and take a turn together, then?"

She wasn't entirely certain why dragons had anything to do with dancing, but agreed anyway.

As it turned out, Reiko nee-san was not the only one that thought 'damsels in distressing corsets' were necessary—the theme seemed almost pre-arranged. There were lots of poufy dresses on the dance floor, some of which made Fuyuki's gown seem downright conservative. She and Yuji had a good laugh as he joked about how far they would bounce if they bumped into anybody, and whether hooped skirts should be standard wear for American football players.

"You pull it off very well though, Fuyuki. You look like one of the dolls Reiko nee-san used to have up on the shelf in her room, the ones with the different dress styles from English eras. She loved those things…"

He blinked, a little startled by Fuyuki's rather blank expression. _Crap. Was that a landmine? Kyou-nii-san is going to kill me!_

"Fuyuki?"

Fuyuki shook herself and smiled. Being told that she looked like a doll wasn't anything new. It wasn't Yuji's fault that she was feeling a little sensitive about it tonight…but while they were on the subject…

"Tell me—when did Kuze take up an interest in hair styling?"

Yuji exhaled in relief at the apparent lightening of Fuyuki's expression. He pursed his lips, thinking about how to answer.

"Our father never really spent much time with Naoko," he said thoughfully, "I think she reminded him of why Mother died… Anyway, I guess taking the time to style Naoko's hair was just one of the ways Kyou-nii-san let her know he treasured her…how he made up for her not having a father or a mother, like we did."

_Then why is he willing to style _my_ hair?_ Fuyuki looked down, concentrating on the movement of her feet. _…unless this really is about Naoko..._

Fuyuki's blank expression was back, and it was making Yuji very nervous. He'd never seen Fuyuki this way before. Was she having a misunderstanding about her relationship with Kuze? If that was the case, it really wasn't his place to tell her…

He looked across the dance floor to where Kuze was speaking to the Director.

Fuyuki looked up, a little startled as Yuji came to a stop. He smiled down at her and led her through the crowd and out into the darkened hallway.

"Stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

She watched absently as Yuji re-entered the bright ballroom and made his way through the onlookers. He was stopped several times by a few women—apparently Yuji was quiet the lady's man—but eventually made his way back over to his brother and sister.

Fuyuki started when he pointed back to where she stood.

_No!_ She thought, feeling flustered _I don't want to talk to him right now! _

Come to think of it…she didn't really feel like talking to anybody at that moment. She looked around, hoping for a decent escape route.

She crossed the hall and opened the glass door, slipping outside into the chilly night air. She was on a fancy marble veranda with sculptures and weather-proof furniture that overlooked the garden.

It really was rather chilly out here…but seeing as she didn't have the time to change her mind, and since she was still very much visible from the hallway, she descended the stone staircase and hid behind the topiaries.

The only thing that kept her from giving herself away when she realized she was not alone was the gloved hand that planted itself firmly over her mouth.

'_Shh!'_ the owner of the offending gloved hand mimed with a finger over his lips. For a moment she struggled to remember why he looked so familiar.

_The hostess' grandson!_

"—I left her right there, Kyou nii-san," Yuji's voice entered the night air as the door to the veranda was opened once again. "I don't see why she would run off like that."

"What did you say to her?"

She looked back at her assailant. He wasn't alone—there were four of them, and just as Uncle Cricket said, they were plumed and armed with rapiers.

_I really do have a knack for getting myself caught by culprits. What am I, some kind of bad-guy magnet? Is this some kind of special ability that hasn't been classified yet?_

"I-I told her she looked like a doll," Yuji squeaked. Apparently Kuze was giving him the evil eye. "Is she sensitive about that?"

She studied the pleading expressions of the boys. They didn't look particularly hostile. Actually, they just looked like a bunch of highschool boys caught in the act of a harmless prank. The hostess' grandson—what was his name again? Fredrick?—was smiling at her hopefully, his eyes begging her not to give them away.

Well. If they weren't hurting anybody… she'd rather not be noticed by Kuze right now, as it was. She could just imagine the face he'd make upon seeing her with the enemy…again.

She nodded tentatively, and they seemed to relax slightly.

There was the subtle buzzing of a vibrating phone, which stopped as Kuze answered it.

"Sasaki—do you have the names?"

"… …Wait…Did you say Fredrick? Fredrick Swanson, the Hostess' grandson?"

The boys hiding with her in the bushes stiffened once again, exchanging tense looks. Fuyuki could sympathize—it really wasn't any fun getting caught by Kuze.

"Got it. Thanks," Kuze finished, the slight snap of his phone closing signaling that the call was over. "Keep looking for her, Yuji—I need to have a word with the Swanson boy."

"…Go easy on him, Kyou-nii-san—I think he's scared enough of you already."

To Fuyuki's surprise, Fredrick and his cohorts smiled at that, like they were enjoying some inside joke.

"Find her—and Yuji…" Kuze paused, and then his voice grew a bit sharper. "…_keep your hands to yourself."_

Fuyuki and the four swashbucklers peeked over the bushes at the sound of the door closing once again, all breathing a collective sigh of relief to find that they were in the clear.

"So…why are you hiding from your brothers?"

Fuyuki blinked, and looked down at her hands. "…They aren't...I'm not their sister."

"_Duh_," one of them said, startling Fuyuki. It was a girl. "Are you an idiot, Fred? What kind of guy gets jealous when his own brother touches his _sister_, for pete's sake?"

_Jealous? What are you talking about?_

"Whatever, Sayuri," Fred said, rolling his eyes. "We have bigger problems to think about."

"Yeah—we're done for," a third voice agreed. "That guy earlier was a cop, right? He has our names."

Fred nodded, looking rather solemn as he studied his polished boots. He looked up at Fuyuki thoughtfully. "You came with the Police Director, right?"

All eyes turned on Fuyuki, and she smiled nervously. "Yes?"

They exchanged glances. "So…what's going to happen to us?"

"You haven't hurt anyone, have you?"

They shook their heads.

"But you have threatened people."

They exchanged glances, and then nodded.

"And you gave back everything you took…for a fee."

"A small one…and we really did give all the profit to charity."

Fuyuki wasn't actually sure what would happen to them. That was on the judicial side of things, and she was more on the find and capture bit…

"…I really don't think you'll go to prison…but the best thing you could do to help your cause would be to turn yourselves in."

They all sat back. It was kind of funny how synchronized they were.

"Your name was Ichikawa, right?"

"Call me Fuyuki."

He smiled. "Would you mind giving us a hand in our peaceful surrender?"

Fuyuki returned the smile and nodded. Maybe Kuze wouldn't kill her if she didn't need to be rescued.

"Great!" he straightened, extending a gentlemanly arm of assistance. "Shall we?"

Fuyuki accepted the arm, and they stepped out of the shadows.

They really did look quite dashing, the lot of them…if a bit theatric. Sweeping capes, feathered hats, shiny sword hilts on decorative belts, poufy white shirts, immaculately polished boots…they really had gone all out.

"Swanson-san—"

"Call me Fred."

Fuyuki smiled. "Fred—why?"

"Why the charade?" he asked. She nodded, and he shrugged, smiling somewhat impishly. "I guess we just wanted to show our families that their trophy children are actually people with unique personalities and interests."

Fuyuki blinked. For some reason, that struck her as very similar to her own predicament—'dolls' and 'trophies' both go on shelves, and 'unique' people earn their place on their own…but instead of worrying about it, they had decided to do something.

_Apparently my fighting spirit has been somewhat lacking of late._

"Alright…" she grinned up at him, eyes twinkling. "Let's knock their socks off!"

* * *

Kuze was had just finished giving descriptions of the suspects to the entrance guards when he heard a shift from within the ballroom. A hush was falling over the noisy socialites.

He glanced at the Director, who was looking at him with a raised brow, silently mouthing something at him.

_'Where is Fuyuki?_'

That question was really beginning to nag at Kuze. That girl had an annoying habit of taking on criminals as soon as his back was turned. She wasn't helpless (her abilities were no joke)…but she certainly was _careless_, and _that_ was what made him nervous.

_…speak of the devil._

A couple on the dance floor caught his attention—the same couple that seemed to be catching everyone's attention. One of them was wearing feathered hat, and the other was wearing a white and sunset pink dress that looked _very_ familiar…

A hand on his shoulder stopped him as he started forward. It was the Director.

"I don't think she's in trouble," the elderly gentleman said thoughtfully, eyeing the pair. "Wait until she asks us for help."

"…Fuyuki doesn't ask for help."

Director Kounogi blinked. If he thought back on it… there really wasn't ever a time he could remember Fuyuki asking anyone for such a thing. In fact, in all the cases where he could remember Fuyuki raising her voice, it was usually when she was fiercely charging to the rescue of someone _else,_ or when she was angry about something—the latter only having occurred recently. She'd livened up considerably since joining S.C.I.U. 007.

He glanced up at Kuze. He looked relaxed, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes that gave him away as he watched Fuyuki and the swashbuckler come closer. Kounogi smiled. Kuze was livelier these days, too.

_Those kids really are good for each other._

* * *

Fuyuki wasn't sure if this look meant Kuze was angry or not. She glanced back up at him now and again as she helped 'negotiate the surrender of the swashbucklers' (who were very good sports about having their fun spoiled. She thought she saw Fred smile a bit when his grandmother fainted, but she couldn't be certain).

When he went outside for a smoking break, she followed him.

"Kuze."

Kuze lifted a brow. "What?"

"Are you angry?"

He twiddled the cigarette in his fingers, but didn't light it. She jumped slightly when he reached out and caught her chin, pulling her closer to study her face.

"K-Kuze? W-what are you doing?"

He ignored her flustered sputtering and tucked his unlit cigarette back into his pocket, his suspicious eyes locked on Fuyuki's. "What are you hiding from me?"

She blinked. "…nothing?"

Kuze didn't look very convinced.

"You've been sulking about something all afternoon—spit it out."

For a moment, Fuyuki really considered telling him…but instead, she rallied her fighting spirit and stuck out her tongue. Being so whiny really wasn't like her at all—if she didn't like the way things were, she'd just have to change them herself!

"Kuze is a pighead!"

"_You little_—!"

* * *

[I hope nobody was too OOC... something keeps nagging at me, but I can't put my finger on it... like an itch I can't scratch... so instead of letting it drive me batty, I decided to post it anyway and hope somebody else can spot it for me... if you do, please tell me! Thanks for reading!]


	5. The Charity Masque-Raiders (post script)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 and its original characters are the property of their creator, Kaji Eiri.

The Charity Masque-Raiders (post script)

When Fuyuki woke up, she found herself in a familiar—but still bizarre—bedroom. Impossibly, there was even more lace and ribbons everywhere than the last time she had slept there…

_Reiko nee-san's been busy…_

It took her a moment of muddled thought to piece together why she was in this room (it was the same room Reiko nee-san had taken upon herself to decorate for Fuyuki in the Kuze mansion). The last thing she remembered was being at the charity ball…

…_I was talking to Kuze, and then…_

_…did I...faint?_

She made a mental note to avoid corsets and headlocks in the future—especially the occurrence of those two things at the same time. It probably didn't bode well for brain-cell survival.

She pushed herself upright and looked down. She was wearing another one of those fairy-tale nightgowns Reiko nee-san was so fond of.

That was when she realized that she wasn't alone.

Kuze had fallen asleep while sitting on the small sofa by the bed, his head propped up on his hand, and still wearing his tuxedo.

She climbed carefully out of the frilly bedding and tiptoed over toward the sofa, grabbing a pillow on her way to prod at him with—she'd had enough experience trying to wake Kuze up to know that getting too close was a very bad idea.

"_Kuze—wake up!"_

Just as she predicted, his hand reached out and snagged the offending object. There was a tense moment of pillow tug-of-war before Kuze noticed that she was holding the other end.

"Are you awake now?" she asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed. "You really should change out of that tux - _eeep!"_

Fuyuki let out a startled squeak as he jerked on the pillow with enough force to make her lose her balance.

She should have known that no pillow on the planet was sufficient defense against a sleepy Kuze.

"What am I, a teddy-bear?!"

"An idiot," Kuze corrected grumpily. "Go to sleep."

Thinking back on it, she felt like she really ought to be used to this by now. It wasn't anything new, so why did her heart stutter like a machine-gun every time it happened? She closed her eyes and counted to ten, imagining penguins and polar bears and snow…lots of cold snow… while her face felt like it was trying to impersonate a volcano. It took much longer than ten seconds for her temperature to return to normal.

"…_where…?"_

Fuyuki blinked. Was he talking in his sleep? She chewed on her lip thoughtfully.

"Where—what?" she asked, wondering if he'd answer.

"…_where…she…"_

"Who?" Was he dreaming about Naoko again?

"…_Fuyuki…"_

The only person she'd ever heard him talk about in his sleep was Naoko. The evidence that his subconscious categorized her individually was kind of encouraging. Maybe she really _had _earned her own place in his heart, after all… "…I'm right here?"

"…_ran off… again…"_

"…no, I didn't." She tried to repress a giggle. Kuze talking in his sleep was surprisingly…childish. Even the irritated scowl was kind of cute.

_"…so stupid…"_

…or not. "…you really _are _a pighead."

If she assumed she was safe from Kuze's headlock because he was asleep, she was wrong.

His subconscious apparently knew her much better than she had imagined.

* * *

[I don't really know what to think of this... but thank you for reading! If it is confusing, please let me know! Thanks!]


	6. A Wandering Mind (part 1)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 (Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007) and its original characters are the property of Kaji Eiri.

[To everyone who commented—I was tickled pink! This one is dedicated to you guys—it might be the last one I write, since I'm working on another project—but I felt like I owed it to you after the encouragement you guys gave. Thank you for your support, and I really hope you enjoy it!]

A Wandering Mind [part 1]

"Kuze…"

"What?"

"…Is she alright?"

"Hm?" Kuze glanced over at the sulking Fuyuki, who was pointedly giving him the cold shoulder for something or other. She had been this way all morning, and he wasn't sure what it was about…but sooner or later she'd probably get tired of it.

And if she didn't, he'd just have to drop a few lines about it being 'too bad' that he can't braid her hair for her. That usually worked.

"Just ignore her," he advised his colleague. "What have we got this morning?"

"Dr. Yuu has a few bodies for us to look at," Sasaki shivered at the chilling glare Fuyuki shot at the indifferent Kuze. She was muttering darkly under her breath—it sounded like it had something to do with sleep talking, name calling, and headlocks but he wasn't certain. "They were thought to be accidents, but the behavior of all three individuals was strange before the event, and a pattern was noticed."

"So they want Fuyuki to check them out?"

"Exactly."

"Alright—" Kuze tucked the report under his arm and headed for the door. "We'll head down there now."

As irritated as Fuyuki might be with him, she wasn't one to let it get in the way of her work. She followed him from the room and into the elevator without a word. Kuze waited until the doors closed before he started the interrogation.

"What are you throwing a fit about?"

She stared at him for an angry moment, and then stuck out her tongue. "Nothing a pig-head like you needs to know."

He would have put her in a headlock at his point, but he remembered how well that went the _last_ time he did it and decided on another method.

"You've been awful secretive lately…" He muttered darkly, advancing towards her.

"Now, now, Kuze—" she said nervously, taking a step back as she raised her hands in surrender. "Really, it's not anything worth getting upset about, and I've decided not to care about it anymore, so you—"

The elevator doors dinged open, exposing a scene that made the officers that were about to enter the elevator turn bright red. Kuze eyed them irritably.

"Take the stairs."

They nodded numbly, and shuffled away as the elevator doors dinged closed.

"K-Kuze!" Fuyuki sputtered from where he had her cornered, hands pinned to the wall over her head "You…They're going to think weird things about that!"

He shrugged. "Who cares?"

"_You—!_" She gaped at him in flustered disbelief, and then suddenly went back to glaring. "Really—I shouldn't even be surprised anymore. A pig-head is a pig-head, after all."

Now, there were two reasons why Kuze was irritated by this reaction—firstly, because she called him a 'pig-head' twice in the same sentence, and secondly, because Fuyuki becoming indifferent to his teasing would sap a great deal of the fun out of his life.

And then, of course, there was the reason he was irritated in the first place.

"Tell me why you've been keeping secrets from me—or I'll kiss you."

"My, my—Why so desperate so early in the morning, Kuze?" A familiar, and unwelcome, chuckle interrupted them. "Does Fuyuki having secrets irritate you that much? Feeling insecure, perhaps?"

Kuze lifted his head and glared at the person leaning on the elevator doors.

"Just shut up and show us the bodies, Yuu."

The man smiled his creepy, irritating smile, his eyes lighting up at the mention of 'bodies'. Kuze followed him down the hallway to the lab, Fuyuki in tow, resisting the urge to draw his firearm and do the world a favor by ridding it of Doctor Yuu.

_I swear, this *bleepard* gets more annoying every time I see him._

"Kuze…"

"Hm?" He turned his head slightly, glancing down at Fuyuki where she was eyeing the binder under his arm.

"What did Sasaki-san mean by 'strange behavior' and a 'pattern'? Do they think this is the doing of a serial killer that disguises it as an accident?"

Kuze eyed her thoughtfully, and pulled the binder from his arm to hand it to her. "That's a possibility… it sounds like a drug is involved—one that alters behavior and upsets the mind. What have you discovered, Yuu?"

"It isn't a known drug—all three of them are perfectly clean, as far as I can tell," Yuu said, his eyes glowing in their creepy way behind his spectacles. "I'm looking forward to seeing what Fuyuki finds."

Kuze eyed him coldly.

_Am I the only one that seems to recall that Fuyuki has to experience being murdered every time she does this?_

He glanced down at her where she was reading the file. She'd never complained about it being painful or frightening, though she'd regularly loose some of the color in her face for a bit afterwards. It made him wonder what kind of life she lived at her father's research institute.

"Alright," she returned the folder to him, her eyes set in determination. "I'll do my best."

She placed her hands on the dead woman's arm, and closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them wide, exposing their altered color. It was almost as if her eyes were looking into a space a little darker than the lab they were in.

"It really is quite fascinating…" Yuu observed aloud.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself—you're polluting the air with your noise," Kuze snapped, his eyes still locked on Fuyuki.

Her bracelets would draw her back if she extended her power too much, but they didn't take into account her emotional or physical status. He realized this the first time he saw her use her power—saw her sweat and tremble as she experienced being stabbed repeatedly while delving into a victim's last memories… but she hadn't pulled away. She faced it head-on, determined to find the evidence needed to catch the culprit. It was what made him accept her as his partner.

He'd also decided then and there that she needed someone to keep an eye on her—make sure she didn't hurt herself too much with that determination of hers. If she pushed too far, he'd stop her himself.

It was why he noticed the thin sheen of sweat and the slight pinching of her features.

"Fuyuki?"

She blinked, pulling back from the body, her eyes returning to the correct shade.

"That was…" she blinked again, her brows slightly furrowed "…a little confusing—but I'm certain this was not purely accident."

Kuze folded his arms. "How? Her friend said she saw her stumble and fall down the stairs without being pushed."

"Well…she did, but it happened because she was fighting with someone," she answered, looking Kuze in the eyes with conviction.

Kuze opened the folder with the report. "The witness statement says nothing about a second party."

"That's what is so confusing about it…" Fuyuki said hesitantly, doubt flickering in her eyes for the first time. "…she never saw the person she was fighting with."

Kuze blinked. "But there was dialogue?"

"Yes. She was speaking to someone, and that person was…"

"Was… what?" Kuze asked, noting the hesitance in her voice.

Her face pinched as she glanced at the first body again, then at the second. "I want to be certain before I say it…"

She approached the second woman and touched the shoulder, closing and opening her eyes again. This time her eyes brightened, as if she were in sunlight. Kuze pulled out the report on this victim, keeping his eyes locked on Fuyuki's face, which was slowly, but steadily, losing its color. His frown deepened. This one was taking longer, and her expression was confused and held a tint of fear.

"Fuyuki—that's enough."

The girl blinked, pulling back obediently as if her hands had been burned by the contact with the body. During the last few moments of contact, the rest of the color had been sapped from her cheeks, and she stood stiffly, the slightest tremor visible.

"Fuyuki—can I be the first to dissect you after you die?"

If Kuze believed that he disliked the man before that moment, it was nothing to what he felt now. Anger roiled off him in waves as he reached for his holstered pistol.

"Sorry, Dr. Yuu—the scientists at my father's institute has exclusive rights to my body after I die…if you want to have a look, you'll have to take it up with him."

Kuze stiffened slightly in surprise as he took in Fuyuki's detached expression. It was as if the outrageous and offensive request hadn't even fazed her—she hadn't even looked up from the form on the gurney. He took a calming breath, made a mental note to give Yuu a good fisting later, and reached over to touch the girl's clammy cheek and turn her face to look up at him.

"Tell me what you saw."

Her expression tightened, her eyes flickering toward the third body with a mixture of determination and dread.

"One more—just to be sure," she stammered slightly. "I…I need… I want to be sure."

He'd only ever seen Fuyuki like this once—during a forced vacation with their unit to a spa that was rumored to be haunted. It turns out that the only thing the plucky, intrepid teenager was afraid of was the occult. It had seemed completely out of character to him at the time, but once she explained _why_ she was experiencing such terror, he couldn't help but feel a little more sympathy—and he'd resolved to exchange words with that bratty childhood friend of hers the next time they met.

This time, when Fuyuki placed her hand on the shoulder of the victim, he placed a steadying hand over hers. She looked up at him, startled at first, and then her expression melted into one of slightly flustered relief. She closed her eyes, and opened them. This time her eyes darkened considerably.

Her hand started to shake under his as she gripped the victim's shoulder, as if fighting the urge to let go. Her expression turned from determination to desperately stifled panic as she witnessed something he could not see. Kuze closed his fingers, lacing them between hers, and forcibly removed her hand from the body.

"That's enough, Fuyuki," he pulled her away from the victim, turning to leave with her still in tow without so much as glancing at Yuu.

"…Where are we going?" her muddled, shaky voice drifted up to him as he tugged her past the elevators and opened the door to the stairwell, pulling her in and closing it behind them. He took off his jacket, hanging it over her trembling shoulders and sat her down on the steps, his oversized jacket doubling as a device for retaining heat and a barrier between her and the dirty step. Kneeling in front of her, he took her pale, chilled face in his hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"What did you see?"

"…nothing—" her voice was weak "—there was nothing _to _see…it was what she was _fighting_…what they were all _fighting_…"

"Tell me," Kuze pressed, moving to catch her eyes again when she averted them. "Fuyuki—I'm right here. Nothing's going to happen to you."

This wasn't like Fuyuki. Being victimized by her emotions—she was a fighter. His alarm increased when she shook her head, the tears falling to roll over his hands, the terror she was trying to hide leaking through her eyes.

"We can't stop this one—we're going to have to call Father," she said, her voice barely a whisper, her eyes looking like all the color had been sapped from them. "…and he'll send us someone to destroy it."

"Fuyuki…are you…?"

"It's a ghost."


	7. A Wandering Mind (part 2)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 (Special Crimes Investigation Unit 007) and its original characters are the property of Kaji Eiri.

A Wandering Mind (part 2)

Kuze woke at one in the morning to the unpleasant sensation of being electrocuted. He bolted upright on the couch with a shout and heard a startled '_Oof!_' as the girl that had been sleeping with her head in his lap tumbled to the carpeted floor.

He blinked at her in bewilderment as she sat up and rubbed at the reddening skin under her bracelets, her expression less disturbed than it should have been. Only when she looked up did she begin to show signs of confusion.

"Kuze? Why are we at your apartment?"

His eyes narrowed. "Forget that—I'd like to know why I woke up feeling like my finger was stuck in a light socket."

She blinked a few more times before her eyes widened. "You felt that?"

"Have you ever seen me wake up this fast?"

"… ...you woke up pretty fast when I called you Kyouichirou…"

His eyes narrowed further. Hearing her say his first name did weird things to his heart. "Why did your protective bracelets decide to zap us in the middle of the night?"

She bit her lip, looking a little sheepish and very apologetic. "I have to wear them when I sleep—sometimes my nightmares can feel a bit too real, and I end up making a mess with my abilities."

Kuze sighed and let his head fall into his hands as he tried to massage some of the tingling out of his flesh. He wouldn't be able to sleep again for a while yet. "You had a nightmare?"

"…I don't really know—I don't _remember_ it, at least…"

He sighed again, and stood, crossing the room to pull a clean shirt from the laundry basket sitting by his bedroom door. He tossed it at Fuyuki.

"Take a quick shower and change into that."

She nodded meekly and stood, making her way over to the restroom, still looking a bit confused as to what she was doing at his place to begin with. Kuze watched her go, his expression pensive.

He brought her to his home after she had fallen asleep in his arms in the stairwell. The exhaustion from using her power three times in rapid succession while under such emotional duress had sapped the energy from her—and for the second time in twenty-four hours, she'd passed out on him.

_'It wasn't all Arashi's fault that I hate anything related to ghosts…I've met a few in person, as part of my training, and I'd rather not remember what happened after that'_

For what felt like the hundredth time, he wondered what exactly this 'training' of hers was like. She had never volunteered to explain the procedures involved, and Kuze had a feeling that she was either under orders not to, or was trying to avoid disturbing anyone with the details. Neither explanation sat very well with him.

Kuze nearly jumped out of his skin for the second time in the last ten minutes when he heard a cry and a loud crashing sound coming from the bathroom.

"Fuyuki?

There was no answer. He crossed the room in a few strides and pounded on the door.

"Fuyuki! What happened?"

Still no answer. He tested the doorknob and found it to be unlocked.

_Really. How unguarded is this girl?_

"Fuyuki?"

Kuze froze for a moment that felt like an age as his heart struggled to beat and his brain tried to process exactly what he was seeing.

A toothbrush floated lazily past his paralyzed form. Water droplets rose from the sink faucet and spiraled through the air thousands of tiny bubbles, clinging to whatever they bumped into along the way—the walls, a floating towel, a shaving razor, each other… the whole room looked like gravity had ceased to exist.

What made his heart stop, however, was the sight of the girl lying on the floor with a bloodied gash at her temple sending little orbs of red into the air.

"_Fuyuki!" _He forced himself forward, falling to his knees beside her, and pushed her gravity-defying blond tresses away from her face and slapped her cheek lightly "Fuyuki—_wake up_!"

_How many times is she going to do this to me today?!_

* * *

"This is the second time she's been in the hospital this month! What have you been _doing_, Kuze?! You're supposed to keep things like this from happening!"

"Now, now, Kikuchi—this accident is completely unrelated to her work. It could have happened anywhere," The Director said, smiling a surprisingly carefree smile as he attempted to calm Kuze's raging boss "We're very fortunate that Kuze was there when it happened."

Kuze ignored them, leaning against the window frame in the hospital room, his expression blank, but his eyes containing a glint that could chill to the bone.

"Why are you so calm about this, Sir?" Boss questioned. "She could have _died!_ What will Dr. Ichikawa think when he hears about this?"

"Oh—I've spoken to him already, no worries," The Director said, waving away the Boss' fretful look with his jovial smile "He knows she's in good hands."

The more Kuze heard about Fuyuki's father, the less he was inclined to like the man. The way the light drained from Fuyuki's eyes when she spoke of him sometimes, the way she had cried when he spoke about fathers that didn't care about their children…and the way he didn't even bother to show up when his daughter was in the hospital…it all painted a very irritating image in Kuze's head.

"Fuyuki! You're finally awake!"

Kuze lifted his eyes, locking them on the face of the girl lying on the hospital bed. She was blinking slowly, like she was having some trouble with the motion, and lifted her hands to gaze at them with a look that seemed like…awe. She touched her face, feeling the features with her slender fingers, running them through her hair. She pushed herself upright as she felt at the bandage over the gash on her temple.

"Take it easy there, Fuyuki—you've taken quite a blow," the Director smiled at her warmly, helping her keep her balance with a hand on her shoulder. She smiled back at him.

Something was off about that smile. Kuze felt a sense of foreboding gathering in his gut.

Their eyes met, and her smile widened, turning her eyes to crescents as a happy pink tint painted her cheeks. She looked like a cat that had found mouse heaven. Kuze felt himself grow cold.

_That…is not Fuyuki._

* * *

"…Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"It's true that she is behaving a little differently, but don't you think it's a bit premature to be jumping to such conclusions? It's natural for her to be a bit disoriented after a blow to the head like that."

"Sir, I know Fuyuki—and that is _not_ her." Kuze closed his eyes and took a steadying breath, willing his temper to remain in check. "The girl in that room right now is probably the same girl that caused the death of the three victims Fuyuki read last night. I insist that you allow me to contact her father."

Director Kounogi studied Kuze's cold expression thoughtfully, his smile gone for the first time in a long while. "I understand. I will contact Dr. Ichikawa and inform him of the circumstances. In the meantime, I want you to go home and get some rest—and that is an order that will be obeyed if you have any intention of keeping your badge and your position as Fuyuki's partner, Kyouichirou. I'll call you as soon as I have word from the doctor."

The look in Kuze's eye sent a chill down the elderly gentleman's spine, but he obediently turned away and strode down the hall, whipping out his phone as soon as he was around the corner.

"Kuze?"

"Sasaki—keep an eye on that girl for me, and make sure to tell me if she tries anything."

"Understood. I'll report if anything out of the ordinary happens—and Kuze…"

"What?"

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Kuze snapped the phone shut, taking the stars down two at a time. By the time he was out the doors he was running.

He knew from experience that Fuyuki didn't need a voice to be able to contact him—she'd done it before during the internet idol kidnapping case—so if she wasn't able to speak to him in the hospital, it either meant that she was being restricted by the entity possessing her body…or that she wasn't in the hospital to begin with.

It was a slim chance, but if she was still at the apartment, then she might be able to tell him how to fight her invader.

He was breathing heavily by the time he finally reached his front door. The though briefly flashed in his mind that he probably ought to stop smoking altogether instead of just resisting the urge when Fuyuki was around.

He slammed the door behind him as he crossed his living room to stand at the entrance of the crime scene.

The carpet at his feet was damp, and his razor and hand towel were lying just outside the restroom door…but the zero-gravity zone within the door was still in effect. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

_"Fuyuki."_ He wasn't sure if she could hear his voice, so he spoke with the raw emotions warring in his chest, hoping she could at least _feel_ his words. It came out sounding surprisingly desperate.

He jumped slightly at the sudden squeak of the sink faucet turning itself on and watched, transfixed, as the water flowed from the tap and peeled itself from the walls, gravitating toward the center of the room, and began to take shape. In a few moments, a familiar image stood before him, formed purely of water.

'…_I'm here, Kuze.'_

He heard no voice, but he felt the words that were undoubtedly Fuyuki's spoken in his mind. He sank to sit on his haunches, letting out a ragged breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. A wry laugh escaped his lips.

"Give me back the peaceful life I had before you waltzed into it."

'… _Kuze… …if you don't speak to me from the heart, I won't be able to hear you.'_

He cursed under his breath. It was true that he liked things a little less crazy than this…but he didn't want to go back to the life he had before she came. He was suddenly very glad that Fuyuki normally had ears that could hear his half-truths. It would get pretty annoying if she only ever heard him when he was saying sappy things.

"What am I supposed to do?"

The watery figure floated to sit on the floor in front of him. It didn't have detailed features, but the basic shape was similar to Fuyuki's. She folded her arms over her chest, giving off an indignant air.

'…_That pig-head is pretty smart—she must have tagged along after me when we left Dr. Yuu's lab. The shock that woke us was probably my bracelets reacting to her trying to pass over my threshold while I was sleeping…she attacked me outright as soon as I took them off when I was brushing my teeth! How sneaky is that? Oh …I hope you don't mind that I stole the extra toothbrush that was in your cabinet…'_

"I couldn't care less," Kuze muttered, smothering his face with his hands to hide the grin that was threatening to betray him. It shocked him how relieved he was to hear her being her usual idiotic, noisy self. "Keep going."

'…_The bracelets are important. They keep me bound to the body, but she got me while they were off and managed to push me out while I was muddled after the blow— I won't be able to take back my body with the bracelets in the way, and she won't be able to leave it either.'_

_"_Can you leave this room?"

'…_if I do that, there is a chance I might get lost.'_

"Then I need to bring her to you."

'_It's the safest option.'_

"Is there anything else I can do besides bringing her and removing the bracelets?"

'_…the more she dislikes being me, the easier it will be for me to kick her out.'_

Kuze lifted a brow, and smirked. "Got it."

[sorry for the cliff-hanger... I promise the last part is coming soon!]


	8. A Wandering Mind (part 3)

Keishichou Tokuhanka 007 and its original characters are the property of their creator, Kaji Eiri.

A Wandering Mind (part 3)

Sasaki was a little taken aback when Kuze showed up at the office only a few hours after having left the hospital as if nothing was wrong. If anyone knew about supernatural phenomena, it was Fuyuki, and if anybody knew Fuyuki, it was Kuze—Sasaki had seen enough over the past few months to know better than to dismiss what Fuyuki saw, and years with Kuze told him that the man was not one prone to jokes or lies (though he did seem fond of teasing Fuyuki and the Boss).

But the look on the man's face as he eyed the 'Fuyuki-imposter', who was flirting with the three assistants on the other side of the room, told Sasaki that this was in no way over yet.

Sasaki almost felt bad for the body-snatcher.

Almost.

* * *

Niki liked being this girl. She was pretty, had nice clothes, was surrounded by idiots who were eager to please her, and had the hottest guy in the police force for a partner. She wasn't sure why the girl was a part of such a tacky sounding unit, but she always thought that female detectives were rather glamorous, so she decided to play along.

She trailed behind the officer called Kuze, who had told her they were going down to see somebody called Dr. Yuu. She shifted from foot to foot as they rode the elevator back down to the ground floor, glancing up at the tall man shyly.

He was so good-looking—and from the chatter of those idiots back there, apparently he was always hogging the girl called 'Fuyuki'…which meant he would be hogging _her_, right? She didn't think she would mind in the least.

The doors opened and he strode out, leaving her to follow.

_He seems so distant…maybe I should try talking to him?_

"Kuze-san?"

"M?" he kept walking, not even glancing at her.

_I got his attention…now what?_

"Um…what are we going to see… Dr. Yuu for?"

"To take a look at some bodies."

Niki was sure she had heard wrong, but decided not to ask again, unsure if the real 'Fuyuki' would have. Pretending to be someone else was turning out to be somewhat nerve-wracking.

"Fuyuki! Kuze! What brings you to my humble lair again so soon?"

Niki turned about at the sound of a new voice, and blinked. _Oh—another good looking guy!_

This one was almost as tall as Kuze, with silky, long-ish brown hair and vivid green eyes. He didn't have the same dark, cold charm of Kuze, but he looked sophisticated in his half-moon spectacles and lab coat. He smiled at her.

"Have you changed your mind about letting me dissect you?"

…_huh?! _Niki backed away slowly, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with those glowing green eyes locked on her. They made his smile seem creepy. …_he can't be serious…it's just a joke! Calm down!_

She giggled nervously and glanced at Kuze.

He wasn't smiling.

"Show us the same bodies as yesterday, Yuu. Fuyuki wants to do a double check."

_Eh? …I didn't say that…did this girl say that? Double check of…what?_ She suddenly wished that she had asked the idiots she was talking to earlier more questions—Kuze and this Yuu person had such sharp eyes…she was too afraid that they would see through her.

"Alright. I held onto them, in case you two weren't finished…and since I'm still curious about them, of course."

_This guy's smile is so creepy!_

She stayed behind Kuze as they followed the Doctor through some swinging doors and into a chilly room with stainless steel tables and lots of sharp-looking tools, vials with strange-colored liquids, a microscope…and jars of amber liquid that contained things that looked suspiciously like…

"…_Um…what are we doing here again_?" she whispered, hoping the creepy guy in the lab coat wouldn't hear her. She was getting a bad feeling about this place.

Kuze looked down at her with a lifted brow. "I've said it twice now—weren't you listening? We're here to look at the bodies."

"_You…You're not serious, are you? Don't you think you've taken this joke far enough_?"

"Joke? Kuze has a sense of humor?"

Niki nearly jumped out of her borrowed skin at the voice of the creepy lab-coat guy coming from right behind her. She spun around…and froze.

Three of the stainless steel panels on the wall next to them had been pulled out, revealing them to be sliding, refrigerated shelves…with very cold, very _dead_ bodies inside them. Not only that—but these very cold, very dead bodies hadn't died peacefully.

Niki ran from the room as fast as her borrowed legs could take her and dashed into the ladies room to upturn the contents of her borrowed stomach in the trash receptacle. Even after there was nothing in the stomach anymore, she kept retching. She felt light headed and dizzy…and when she looked at her borrowed face in the mirror, it was practically green.

She wiped the bile from her lips with a paper towel and stumbled toward the door of the ladies room.

_What kind of sick nightmare is this? I have to get out of here!_

She tiptoed out into the hall, and nearly screamed in terror to find Kuze waiting for her there, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. The only thing that kept her from shrieking was his cool hand clamped over her mouth.

"What's wrong with you? You deal with this stuff every day—it's your job, 'Fuyuki'."

_Is it just me, or did this girl's name sound kind of cold coming from his lips?_

She stuttered "I—I don…I don't f-feel so good…maybe I got out of the h-hospital too fast…"

She hoped that he didn't hear the panic in her tone. She didn't like this. It wasn't supposed to be this way—this girl had everything, so why would she want such a horrible job? It wasn't like she needed the money…all her clothes were branded! She was staying in the most expensive hotel in the city!

"You haven't even looked into their memories of being murdered yet, and you're already green—either you are really sick, or you're not you anymore." Niki felt like the blood in her veins had frozen "The Fuyuki I know doesn't even blink when she sees a dead body, even if they haven't been cleaned up and made pretty for the analysts yet."

The frozen blood slowly drained from her face. _What kind of girl _is _this girl?! What's WRONG with her?! Memories of being murdered? Doesn't even blink? And how were the bodies in there 'pretty'?! This is so sick!_

Kuze sighed, sounding very weary. Niki flinched. "I'll take you home—let's go get your things."

Niki's mind was reeling at a million miles an hour as she and Kuze set out from the police station.

_Why would a girl do such a horrible job? Is she sick in the head? What a waste of such a great life! She should be having fun every day—she was the daughter of a prestigious owner of a powerful research institution! _

Then it dawned on her. Maybe it wasn't the _job_ she wanted, but the perks that came with it. She glanced shyly at the man walking beside her. _She must be in love with this guy! That's it! Love makes people do all kinds of crazy stuff, right?_

"Um…Kuze-san…where are we going? This doesn't look familiar to me…"

"Well…That's strange," he drawled. His voice sounded so distant, and kind of bitingly sarcastic. Was she imagining it? Did this guy not like 'Fuyuki' at all? Why not? "You come to my place all the time—you even stay over often enough. You must have hit your head pretty hard to forget all that."

_…Huh? Wait…what did he just say? Stay over? All the time? What exactly is going on here?_

"It's kind of rude of you to forget stuff like that, don't you think? Especially when you're so clingy at night and wake me up so violently when you have nightmares."

Niki felt like her borrowed ears were on fire. Was it just her, or was there a wicked glint in his dark eyes just now?

_What the—!? What exactly is going on between these two?! Are they in a relationship? Is that even legal? Is that why he's mad at this girl? Because I didn't know they were involved like this and acted so distant with him?_

"….Kuze….I'm sure I'll remember soon," _I'll get better at bluffing for sure! There's no way I'm passing up being in a relationship with a guy this hot! To heck with it being legal! "_…I'm just still a little muddled because of my head injury."

"I see."

She shivered at the way he looked at her. _What's with that smile? It's scary, but who cares when he's this good looking?_

She followed him into the large, tidy apartment in a daze, feeling butterflies when he shut and locked the door behind them. She nearly leapt out of her borrowed body when he took her by the elbow and pulled her into the next room, shutting it behind them and leaning on it.

It was a bedroom. Niki felt her borrowed ears catch fire again.

_He's not going to…? …is he?_

She jumped nervously when he reached over to pick up a pen from the top of the dresser, tossing it in the air and catching it again, his eyes thoughtful. He tossed it onto the bed in a high arch and surveyed the room with a sharp gaze.

"I guess I'd better get this over with before she finds out we're back," he said mildly.

_Wait…'she'? He's married?! And he's having an affair with this girl!?_

She blinked. _Well. Not that I mind overmuch. Maybe he'll divorce her soon._

But there was something about the way his eyes and voice softened when he spoke about the mysterious 'she' that made Niki think something was slightly off about this situation…But then he pinned her with his dark eyes and she forgot how to think altogether.

"What's your name?"

"…What?" She stuttered, trying to sound suspicious instead of panicky. It was much harder than she hoped it would be. "S-stop joking, K-Kuze! It's Fuyuki, of course!"

"I want your _real_ name. I know Fuyuki—and you are not her."

Niki felt her knees wobble as the blood drained from her face. _How does he know? Even if he thinks I'm acting strangely, people usually don't believe something like this is possible! How does he know!?_

He gave her a twisted smirk. "Fuyuki isn't your average girl—she knew about you even before you attacked her. And she told me. Now, drop the act—it makes me sick seeing you try to take her place. You're terrible at it."

The strength left Niki's legs and she fell to her knees. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Nobody was supposed to know!

_How do I get out of this!?_

When she made a dash for the door, he snagged her by the elbow and pulled her into a tight hold against his chest. It wasn't painful physically—in fact, she was kind of startled by how gentle he was being—but she had the distinct feeling that the look in his eyes was not gentle at all.

"You aren't going to get away with this, brat," his low, silken voice in her ear sent shivers through her. "Every moment you spend in her body, I will make a living hell—you have my word on that."

Niki started crying. "B-but…even if I leave…there's no guarantee she'll come back! Isn't it better if she's still alive, even if it's me inside?"

"If you think I'd let a selfish, murdering brat like you parade around in the body of the woman I love, you are sadly mistaken—I'd rather lay her bones to rest forever than watch that happen." She started sobbing openly as he unfastened the silver bracelets around her borrowed wrists and tossed her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "But, luckily for you, I don't have to. Fuyuki's more than woman enough to take you on all by herself."

* * *

If you've ever hyperventilated and then held your breath, you'd know that even though you didn't really need to inhale again for a while, it still feels weird to not be breathing. Like something that should always be there suddenly isn't.

Fuyuki was feeling a little like that, multiplied exponentially. She felt like she ought to be breathing, she ought to have a heart that was beating, she ought to be able to tell if she was warm or cold, if it was light or dark…but it wasn't all that unusual a feeling to her. It happened every so often when she extended her power without her protective bracelets.

But it had never happened for this long before. She'd never spent so long in the void.

It was a good thing had such strong telekinetic abilities—otherwise she might not have been able to stay in one location without drifting. She had to concentrate on the physical things around her (while not destroying them). It was a little like making herself a body that wasn't living or breathing, just for the sake of having an anchor to keep her in place. That was where she got the idea to make herself a body out of water. If she was going to have one, it might as well have a familiar shape.

It was difficult keep calm—so she played games with the water. Pulled up images of fishes and made them swim around the room, playing water Ping-Pong, practiced making her water body more detailed—for the sake of distracting herself from the discomfort of being bodiless and the anxiety that was trying to mess with her thinking.

_I trust Kuze. This is going to be alright._

There were moments when her control faltered. She broke all the glass fixtures (the mirror, the shower walls, the glass that was sitting on the sink), and the faucet seemed to have developed a substantial leak.

_Kuze's going to be livid…but if we can get my body back, I'd put up with any punishment…_

She perked up as his familiar presence entered her conscious. His, and another, who wasn't as familiar, but whom she had unpleasant, and recent, memories associated with.

But some of her anger was dialed down at the realization that the ghost in her body was truly and utterly terrified.

_…what did Kuze do to her to get her in this state?_ She decided not to ask presently—it was helpful, since she would be weakened by her fear and more easily displaced.

'…_Kuze, would you talk to her for me_?'

'_What do you want me to say_?'

'_I want her name, and her story.'_

_'Can't we worry about that later?'_

_'It's best to worry about it while she has a mouth to speak with.'_

She could feel Kuze's mental sigh. '_Alright—I'll ask.'_

Fuyuki listened to the girl's story. And then she gasped.

'_You're alive?!'_

Kuze translated her outburst, seeming unhappy with its loud nature. The girl confirmed that she was indeed alive—though unable to return to her own body as of present, since she was unable to locate it.

Fuyuki was so excited and relieved that she literally dissolved into a puddle.

'…_Hey! What are you doing!?'_

_'This means I don't have to destroy her, Kuze. I don't have to end her—I don't have to listen to the screams of her heart as I force her out of existence…'_

_'…so…that's the real reason you fear ghosts?'_

_'…they have such a strong will to live, and they fear being erased more than anything… being an exorcist isn't a pretty job, especially if you can feel what they feel…'_ she collected her temporary body, pulling herself into a semi-dignified stance. '…_speaking of which, why is she so terrified?_'

She could hear his mental smirk. '_Nothing a pig-head like you needs to know._'

* * *

They were able to locate the body of Niki Amami in a nearby hospital—she'd been in a coma for five days. It turned out that she didn't even know she had killed the people she had tried to possess.

The Director was very apologetic for having doubted Kuze, much to his annoyance.

The four of them (Kuze, Fuyuki, the Director, and Sasaki) decided that it would be best not to let the Boss and the three idiots in on what had happened—none of them wanted to deal with the uproar that would create.

As for Fuyuki, she continued to hate ghosts, was forced to lend herself to Kuze as a pillow indefinitely as punishment for wrecking his bathroom, and had discovered that she really liked playing with water—much to Kuze's chagrin. After all, he was the one that usually ended up having to rescue her when she exhausted herself and fell asleep in the bath.

In the end, Kuze never told her what he said to Niki that got her so riled up. He only smirked when she asked, reminding her that she wasn't the only one who could keep secrets—a reaction that annoyed her like none other, a discovery that Kuze would enjoy exploiting in the near and distant future.

And when he asked about why he'd never seen her bracelets go off while she was sleeping before, he found it ridiculously difficult not to do something inappropriate to her when she confessed that he never saw it because she had less nightmares when he was with her (Not only because he was relieved that he wouldn't have to endure the electric waking method often, but also because of adorably mortified expression she made after she realized what she had just said to him.)

* * *

[I hope this was okay, guys—I really appreciate the support you have given me, and I don't want to disappoint. It's amazing how encouraging reviews and comments are. I wouldn't have been able to finish this last one without you. Thank you!]


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